People v. Morger (Ill. 2019)
Illinois Supreme Court opinion finding that, as a condition of supervision, a total ban from access to social media websites violates the First Amendment.
People v. Buyund (N.Y. App. Div. 2nd 2019)
New York Supreme Court opinion vacating a requirement that an individual convicted of sexually motivated first-degree burglary be required to register, as registration was not mandated under New York’s statutory scheme.
Jackson v. United States (11th Cir. 2019)
11th Circuit Court of Appeals finding no ineffective assistance of counsel where, despite advice that plea agreement would not require registration as a sex offender, counsel could not have anticipated subsequent changes in the law.
Steinman v. Blocker (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2019)
Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court declaring that registration requirements enacted in response to prior PA Supreme Court decision violated Ex Post Facto clause.
United States v. Doby (D. Kan. 2019)
Federal District Court for the District of Kansas rejecting defendant’s pre-trial argument that federal SORNA constitutes compelled speech in the context of a failure to register indictment.
Lozier v. State (Miss. 2019)
Mississippi Supreme Court opinion affirming the trial court’s denial of a petition to deregister under Mississippi state law, where the Appellant had not yet met the state statutory criteria for termination of his duty to register, and where the Full Faith and Credit clause did not mandate that Mississippi honor Massachusetts’ determination that the Appellant no longer had to register in Massachusetts.
In re Ma.H., et al. (Ind. 2019)
Indiana Supreme Court opinion affirming the termination of parental rights over a claim that the trial court’s requirement that the father complete a sex offender treatment program violated his Fifth Amendment rights.
Commonwealth v. Haines (Pa. Super. 2019)
Pennsylvania Superior Court opinion holding that requiring sex offense registration for individual who committed sexual offenses as a juvenile, but was not convicted until reaching adulthood, was unconstitutional.
Reed v. Long (M.D. Ga. 2019)
Federal trial court issuing a preliminary injunction prohibiting Georgia sherriff from placing signs in the front of homes of people required to register as sex offenders on Halloween.
Commonwealth v. Moore (Pa. Super. 2019)
Pennsylvania Superior Court opinion holding that internet dissemination of sex offender registration information is punitive in effect, and thus retroactive application violates the federal Ex Post Facto clause.
Commonwealth v. Vieira (Mass. 2019)
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court opinion affirming the denial of state’s request for mandatory pretrial detention of defendant who had been charged with statutory rape offense.
State ex rel A.N. (La. 2019)
Louisiana Supreme Court opinion declining, on procedural grounds, to address argument that juvenile sex offense registration violates 8th Amendment.
Bohn v. Cook (D. Conn. 2019)
District Court for Connecticut declining to dismiss a prisoner’s § 1983 suit alleging violations of Procedural Due Process, where he was assigned a sex offender risk score without a hearing, and was not incarcerated for a sex offense.
Demus v. State (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2019)
Florida District Court of Appeal reversing conviction for failure to register as a sex offender on the grounds that state prosecutors never established elements of the offense.
State v. Straw (Ind. Ct. App. 2019)
Indiana Court of Appeals reversing trial court ordering Appellant to register as a sex offender when the Indiana legislature had not specified his crime as one which carries registration as a possible consequence.
Clark v. Oklahoma (10th Cir. 2019)
10th Circuit Court of Appeals denying COA on the argument that registration constitutes custody for habeas corpus purposes.
Wiggins v. United States (S.D. Ind. 2019)
Federal trial court dismissing request to reduce registration time under federal SORNA on the basis that the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, and that the federal statute does not create a private right of action.
Willman v. United States Attorney General (E.D. Mich. 2019)
Federal district court in the Eastern District of Michigan dismissing broad constitutional challenge to federal SORNA.
Ferguson v. Mississippi Dep’t Pub. Safety (Miss. 2019)
Mississippi Supreme Court opinion holding that, under Mississippi state law, a misdemeanor expungement for a sex offense does not relieve an individual of the obligation to register as a sex offender.
State v. N.R. (Kan. Ct. App. 2019)
Kansas Court of Appeals opinion holding that KORA does not violate prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment or retroactive punishment in the context of a person required to register who committed their offense as a juvenile.
Minter v. Bartruff (8th Cir. 2019)
8th Circuit Court of Appeals reversing the decision of the trial court, which had dismissed a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Iowa inmates alleging constitutional and statutory violations attributable to Iowa’s sex offender treatment program.
United States v. Park (D.C. Cir. 2019)
Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia reversing a federal trial court dismissal of a PROTECT Act indictment, finding that the PROTECT Act was a lawful exercise of cogressional authority under the treaty power and the Foreign Commerce Clause.
State v. Perez-Medina (Kan. 2019)
Divided Kansas Supreme Court opinion affirming lower courts’ findings that Kansas’ registration scheme was non-punitive in the context of a violent, non-sexual offense.
Jones v. County of Suffolk et al. (2nd Cir. 2019)
2nd Circuit Court of Appeals affirming a federal trial court’s finding that even if Plaintiff was “seized” during verification visits by contract employees of the state (Parents for Megan’s Law), that the seizure was not unreasonable in light of the application of the special needs doctrine.
Holste v. State (Utah 2019)
Utah Supreme Court opinion finding that an out-of-state guilty plea in exchange for a withheld adjudication qualified as a conviction that required registration under Utah state law.
Matthew 25 Ministries v. Swearingen (S.D. Fla. 2019)
United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida opinion dismissing with prejudice on the grounds of lack of organizational standing a civil rights lawsuit alleging various constitutional violations of Florida’s sex offense registry.
Prynne v. Northam et al (E.D. Va. 2019)
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia dismissing a federal civil rights complaint alleging violations of state and federal constitutional provisions related to Ex Post Facto punishment and Due Process.
State v. Grady (N.C. 2019)
North Carolina Supreme Court opinion holding that imposition of mandatory, lifetime GPS monitoring imposed on individuals who North Carolina classified as recidivist offenders and who were no longer under state criminal supervision was a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
Holland v. Georgia (11th Cir. 2019)
Unpublished 11th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion affirming the district court dismissal of a constitutional challenge to Georgia’s sex offense registry laws, alleging violations of the Ex Post Facto clause, Substantive Due Process, Equal Protection, and violations of the Eighth Amendment.
Bailey v. Commonwealth (Va. Ct. App. 2019)
Virginia Court of Appeals affirming conviction and upholding state law that required registration of internet identifiers.